Monday, July 30, 2007
Old Memory is Key Source of Chronic Pain
Why do so many people continue to suffer from life-altering, chronic pain long after their injuries have actually healed? The definitive answer—and an effective treatment—has long eluded scientists. Traditional analgesic drugs, such as aspirin and morphine derivatives, haven’t worked very well. A Northwestern University researcher has found a key source of chronic pain appears to be an old memory trace that essentially gets stuck in the prefrontal cortex, the site of emotion and learning. The brain seems to remember the injury as if it were fresh and can’t forget it.
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